Tottenham target Paulinho backed to shine in Premier League

Posted Monday, July 01, 2013 by skysports.com

David Luiz and Paulinho: Chelsea defender has backed Brazil midfielder to shine in the Premier League

Chelsea defender David Luiz has backed Brazil team-mate Paulinho to be a hit in the Premier League, saying "his game fits perfectly".

The Corinthians midfielder has been tipped to make a £17million move to Tottenham and Luiz feels he has all the qualities required to make his mark in England.

Paulinho has impressed during the Confederations Cup, scoring the winning goal in the semi-final success against Uruguay which booked the hosts a place in the final against Spain on Sunday.

And Luiz would be more than happy to come up against his international team-mate in domestic action next term.

"If he gets to play in England, he will definitely go far", he told Fifa.com.

"His game fits perfectly with the pace of English football.

"It's incredibly valuable to have someone like that in your side. Especially when the team (Brazil) is getting along together as well as ours is."

Paulinho, whose future is expected to be decided following the Confederations Cup, spoke about the key strengths of his game in the wake of the tense semi-final success against Uruguay.

He said: "It really is one of my qualities, moving into different areas of the field, picking up opponents as well as helping to attack.

"I try to help in every possible way and I'll try to keep on doing that, both for my club and the national side, because that's how I've always had success."